Climate Change Lesson 4

Getting to Know the Carbon Cycle and the Greenhouse Effect

Summary: Today’s lesson focuses on the different forms carbon takes, how carbon dioxide’s relationship with temperature is what makes Earth habitable (thank you, greenhouse effect!), and gives students an analogy to help them better understand impacts of increased carbon dioxide levels.

Lesson Components:

Activity	Students will...	Indiana State Standard Addressed (*8.ESS.1)
The Carbon Cycle Game	Play the role of a carbon atom moving through the carbon cycle pre- and post- industrial revolution	SEPS.4 & 6
Carbon dioxide-temperature comparison graph debrief	Analyze a graph for the relationship between carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and temperature	SEPS.4 & 5
Mini-Lecture on the Greenhouse effect	Receive direct instruction on what the greenhouse effect is
Carbon Dioxide as Atmospheric Steroids	Compare increased levels of steroids in athletes to increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere	6-8.LST.4.3

Teacher’s Homework:

• Please read sections 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, & 2.5 at http://www.gettingthepicture.info/2/

Other Helpful Lesson-Specific Info:
Carbon dioxide gas is not inherently bad. Without carbon dioxide, the earth’s ability to trap heat would be significantly reduced, and earth would be uninhabitable. Carbon dioxide is also not the only greenhouse gas. Other naturally occurring molecules (like water vapor) and man-made molecules contribute to the atmosphere’s ability to trap heat.

Lesson set-up: This lesson requires 7 stations, each equip with a dice and the station “roll sheet”. Students will need a copy of the provided Carbon Cycle Data Table. It also requires that images and videos be loaded prior to class.

 

Activity: The Carbon Cycle Game

**Adapted from https://climatechangelive.org/img/fck/file/carbon_cycle_game.pdf (by Jennifer Ceven, Grade 6 Science Teacher)

Purpose: In playing a game where students actually get to “be” the carbon, the goal is for students to recognize how important carbon is in the biosphere, how it is part of a time-sensitive process, and how humans have changed the process since they started burning fossil fuels.

Set-Up: The carbon cycle game requires that stations be set up around the room with labels and dice prior to the start of class. All materials are located in the folder, with the exception of enough copies of data tables for students. All students will be on their feet, so be sure to place stations far enough apart that students will not be too crowded.

For the first round, the signs (atmosphere, plants, animals, soil, surface ocean, deep ocean, fossil fuels) need to be placed around the room with their “roll sheet” (the sheet that tells students where to move to after they roll a certain number) and a die.

For the second round, the same signs need to stay placed around the room, but the “roll sheet” at the FOSSIL FUELS station needs to be swapped out with the one labeled as “Fossil Fuels Post-Industrial Revolution.”

Procedure:

• Yesterday (Day 3) we spent a decent amount of time talking about carbon dioxide. What are some take-aways that we remember?
• Today we are first going to take a step back and think about the way carbon takes different forms. Why is carbon such a big deal?
  • Answers will vary. The goal is to remind students that carbon is in ALL living things and is important in so many processes. The biosphere would not be the same without carbon.
• To better understand the role carbon has in the biosphere, we are going to each BE a carbon atom.
• Carbon hangs out in a lot of different places and a lot of different forms here on Earth. Walk through the stations as you walk through the following points:
  • Carbon hangs out as a gas in the atmosphere.
  • Sometimes, the carbon in the atmosphere gets dissolved into water (surface water and deep ocean). Other times, it gets taken in by plants.
  • Plants use carbon dioxide to run photosynthesis, which is the process by which they make sugars for themselves.
  • Plants can be eaten by animals, who exhale carbon back into the atmosphere during carbon dioxide.
  • Plants can decompose into the soil or can become compressed over millions of years and become fossil fuels.
• Place students at stations around the room. When students are at stations, they are to stand in line and wait to roll the dice.
• When they roll the dice, they compare the number they rolled to the “Roll Sheet” (model this for your students) at each station. The number they role determines their fate as a carbon dioxide molecule. Sometimes you stay where you are at, other times you move.
• Regardless of what you roll, keep track of this on your data sheet.
• Once you have completed 10 rolls, you’re done. Please sit in your seat.

After the 1st Round, regroup as a class. This can be as in-depth of a conversation as you would like it to be.

• Where did people spend the most time? What stations were easy to get out of? Why do you think this is?

Transitioning to the 2nd Round...

• What changed during the Industrial Revolution? (humans used fossil fuels (mostly coal) to power the large influx of factories)
• How do you think we should modify the fossil fuel roll sheet to account for these changes in the carbon cycle?
  • (needs to be more of a chance that carbon leaves fossil fuels)
  • CHANGE THE ROLL SHEET OUT FOR THE FOSSIL FUELS SHEET MODIFIED FOR **AFTER** THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
• What changes do you anticipate in the second round?
  • (students will likely only think about carbon leaving the fossil fuels, not about other places where it gets trapped)

Conduct a second round of the game the exact same way. Ask the same follow-up questions. Other ideas to ponder with your students:

• What effects did increased fossil fuel combustion have on the carbon cycle? (more carbon in the air and ocean- longer lines here this round)
  • How many carbon molecules were at the fossil fuel station in the end of the round compared to other stations?
• How does what we saw in this round compare to the graph we made (class carbon dioxide graph) in the Data Dive earlier this week?

 

The Carbon Cycle Game:


THE ATMOSPHERE

You are currently a molecule of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

If you roll... Then you ...

1 Stay in the atmosphere. Much of the carbon dioxide in the

atmosphere moves through the atmosphere.

2 Go to plant. You are used by a plant in photosynthesis.

3 Stay in the atmosphere. Much of the carbon dioxide in the

atmosphere moves through the atmosphere.

4 Stay in the atmosphere. Much of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere circulates through the atmosphere.

5 Go to surface ocean.

6 Go to plant. You are used by a plant in photosynthesis.

PLANTS

You are currently a carbon molecule in the structure of the plant.

If you roll... Then you ...

1 Go to soil. The tree shed its leaves.

2 Stay in plant. You are a carbon molecule in the tree’s trunk.

3 Go to animal. The leaves and berries that the plant produced

contain your carbon molecule and were eaten.

4 Stay in plant. You are a carbon molecule in the tree’s roots.

5 Stay in plant. You are a carbon molecule in the tree’s

branches.

6 Stay in plant. You are a carbon molecule in the tree’s trunk.

ANIMALS

You are currently a molecule of carbon in an animal.

If you roll... Then you ...

1 Stay in animal. The carbon molecule is stored as fat in the

animal.

2 Go to soil. The animal that consumed you died and your

carbon molecule is returned to the soil.

3 Go to atmosphere. The animal that consumed you respired

(breathed) you out as carbon dioxide.

4 Stay in animal. You are eaten by a predator.

5 Go to atmosphere. The animal that consumed you respired

(breathed) you out as carbon dioxide.

6 Go to atmosphere. The animal that consumed you respired

(breathed) you out as carbon dioxide.

SOIL
You are currently a molecule of carbon dioxide in the soil.

If you roll... Then you ...

1 Stay in the soil. Much of the carbon in the soil is stored there.

2 Go to plant. You are used by a plant in photosynthesis.

3 Go to fossil fuels. Your carbon molecule has been in the soil

so long it turns into fossil fuels.

4 Go to the atmosphere.

5 Stay in the soil.

6 Go to fossil fuels. Your carbon molecule has been in the soil

so long that it turns into fossil fuels.

SURFACE OCEAN

You are currently a molecule of carbon dioxide in the surface ocean.

If you roll... Then you ...

1 Go to deep ocean.

2 Stay in the surface ocean.

3 Go to deep ocean. Your carbon atom was part of an ocean

organism that has died and has sunk to the bottom of the ocean.

4 Stay in the surface ocean.

5 Go to the atmosphere.

6 Go to the atmosphere.

DEEP OCEAN
You are currently a molecule of carbon in the deep ocean.

If you roll... Then you ...

1 Stay in the deep ocean.

2 Stay in the deep ocean.

3 Go to surface ocean.

4 Go to surface ocean.

5 Go to surface ocean.

6 Go to animal. An organism in the water has taken you up as

food in the deep ocean.

FOSSIL FUELS

Fossil fuels are a rich source of energy that has been created from carbon that has been stored for many millions of years.

If you roll... Then you ...

1 Stay in the fossil fuels.

2 Stay in the fossil fuels.

3 Stay in the fossil fuels.

4 Stay in the fossil fuels.

5 Go to the atmosphere. Humans have pumped the fuel that

you are part of out of the ground and have used it to power their cars.

6 Go to the atmosphere.

FOSSIL FUELS **POST-INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION**
If you roll... Then you…
1 Stay in the fossil fuels.
2 Go to the atmosphere. Humans have pumped the fuel that you are part of out of the ground and have used it to power their cars.
3 Stay in the fossil fuels.
4 Go to the atmosphere. You were burned as fuel in a car.
5 Go to the atmosphere. You were a part of coal that was used to make electricity.
6 Go to the atmosphere.

 

Name:

The Carbon Cycle Game
DATA RECORD SHEET

Record the places you have traveled as a carbon molecule BEFORE the Industrial Revolution.

Station at Start	Roll the dice. What happened?	Destination
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Where did you spend the most time?






Where did other people in class spend the most time?








Record the places you have traveled as a carbon molecule AFTER the Industrial Revolution.

Station at Start	Roll the dice. What happened?	Destination
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Where did you spend the most time?





Where did other people in class spend the most time?





What was different about this round of the carbon game? How did humans influence the carbon cycle after they started burning fossil fuels?

 

Activity: Carbon dioxide-temperature comparison graph debrief

Purpose: The goal of this activity is to help students see the role carbon dioxide plays in the atmosphere. In looking at the correlation between carbon dioxide levels and temperature, students should be able to recognize that carbon dioxide helps trap heat.

Set-Up: Please pull up the link below
http://www.climatecentral.org/gallery/graphics/co2-and-rising-global-temperatures

Procedure:

• What are the axes of this graph?
• What trends are present?
• Do these trends compare to other graphs and data we have looked at?
• What’s the relationship between temperature and carbon dioxide?
• Does this make carbon dioxide the “bad guy”

Activity: Mini-Lesson on the Greenhouse Effect

Purpose: The Greenhouse Effect explains why carbon dioxide traps heat in the atmosphere. It explains why life on earth is possible, but also how fossil fuel combustion has made climate more unpredictable.

Set-Up: The following links below are all resources to aid in your explanation of the Greenhouse Effect. Whichever ones you decide to use should be loaded prior to class.

Procedure: Give students a mini-lesson explaining the greenhouse effect. To aid in your explanation, below you will find 3 resources.

https://ourclimateourfuture.org/video/chapter-4/

• This kid-friendly video provides a nice visual of carbon dioxide absorbing and releasing heat in the atmosphere.

https://www.fieldmuseum.org/sites/default/files/Climate%20Change%20in%20the%20Windy%20CIty%20and%20the%20World_web1017.pdf

• Look at page 10 on the PDF for a good diagram of natural vs human greenhouse effect

https://www.fieldmuseum.org/sites/default/files/Climate%20Change%20in%20the%20Windy%20CIty%20and%20the%20World_web1017.pdf

• Page 13 on the PDF compares carbon sinks and sources top a balancing act. This would be a good way to address why our sinks can’t just hold all the extra carbon we are pumping into the air.

 

Activity: Carbon Dioxide as Atmospheric Steroids

Purpose: This video highlights some important info about the nature of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases by making an analogy to baseball players taking steroids.

Set-Up: Before class, please visit http://gettingthepicture.info/5/, and load the “Steroids, Baseball and Climate Change” video, located in section 5.2.

Procedure:

• After the carbon cycle game, we recognize that when humans started burning fossil fuels, we threw off the carbon cycle.
• We then touched on the greenhouse effect, which tells us that carbon dioxide is an important part of the atmosphere because it traps heat and makes the planet habitable. When we put too much carbon in the atmosphere, the atmosphere can now trap a lot more heat than it could before.
• Before showing students this video, here’s a question for them to ponder: How does carbon dioxide in the atmosphere work in a way similar to a baseball player taking steroids?
• After video has played, review this question again, drawing on information from the video.

Key ideas you want your student to take away from the video:

Steroids:	Connection to carbon dioxide:
Steroids are found in the human body naturally and are really important to the health of our bodies. We NEED steroids.	Carbon dioxide is also found naturally in the atmosphere. We NEED it there, without it, the atmosphere couldn’t trap heat as well and it would be harder to live on our planet.
When a baseball player starts taking steroids, and therefore is putting more steroids in the body than what it’s used to, we see dramatic effects. In baseball, normally this athlete hits more home runs.	When humans start burning fossil fuels, which pumps more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than what it’s used to, we also see dramatic changes. Carbon dioxide traps more heat, meaning temperatures on Earth increase.

*If time is running short, this can be an exit slip and can be reviewed in the beginning of class tomorrow.